Understanding truth

I spent a lot of years thinking I knew what the truth of my experiences were. I thought I could see clearly through the situations in my life. In Buddhism we call this delusion, when our attachments to the past or to the future put a mask on what is truly happening in the present moment. To see through the delusion I have to sit with myself and practice inquiry. What is really going on in my body right now? What is my mind trying to trick me with in this moment? Sometimes sitting and facing the present moment is the hardest thing we are called to practice. It means there is no escape or day dreams to distract us with it may even mean sitting with some very uncomfortable emotional states so that we can learn to take the blinders off. What I found to be true is when I face even the uncomfortable moments they are from something that has happened in the past or a worry I have about the future, a level of anxiety or fear perhaps. I was sitting in silent meditation the other night for example and my whole body hurt and was upset over a situation that happened a week before. What I learned was the pain I was experiencing was still attached to the painful experience I went through a week ago. If I looked clearly at the moment I was fine, safe, and okay. I also had to accept the feelings I was going through. So one thing I often practice in meditation is “as I breathe in I accept this moment, as I breathe out I accept this breath” Acceptance is key to seeing clearly, if we are stuck in the control aspects of our minds we will never learn to see things for what they are. If I learn to accept painful emotions I see that in that moment in each breath I am safe.